The Hero of Change
by Lieza McDohl
Summary: A unique story created around the world of Suikoden. This story takes place in the Queendom of Falena which if you have played the game, hasn't been mentioned much.
1. A New Awakening

**"In the year Solis 493, Harmonia has started a strike to invade the Queendom of Falena. Many countless lives were lost within the initial strike. The people of Falena had no chance massing their troops at the last second. The Harmonians continued their assault throughout the Queendom looking for the True Rune that lied within," says a young girl with red hair reading from a book. Her eyes are emerald green and she is wearing a very elegant dress.**

**"Welcome to the world of Suikoden, I am your host Elle McDohl, join me in this epic adventure of war, love, and death. I do hope you enjoy your journey into this magical world. Now let us begin."**

**The city of Ansendale which lies deep within the Queendom of Falena is home to many people from all over the world. The city itself resides within the center of the country. Many people seeking refuge come to this place. The city is always bustling with talk of trade with the other countries over sea, as well as the island countries at the back door, but this day is different from all others. Today is the day Harmonia invades. They hail from the North east above the Kingdom of Dunan and east of the land known as the Grasslands. Traveling by ship they land on the northern boarder of Falena, marching directly to Ansendale. Their troops wear silver armor with a deep blue leather under coat. They all carry large halberds to inflict as much pain as possible when striking down any resistance brought to them.**

**"Its amazing how powerful Harmonia is..their country is so large with so many troops..I don't know how they manage to keep everyone's hopes and dreams up while they are constantly in war. Anyway I'm sorry for interrupting lets head back to the story," giggled Elle.**

**In Ansendale a young man and his best friend are heading out of the city to go explore for treasure and relics to sell to the greedy merchants on the streets. The young man has short black hair with brown eyes. He wears a crimson red shirt with pitch black pants, and deep brown boots worn on his feet. He has a sword strapped to his side. The sword has a large emerald orb on the base of the hilt. The actual sword has characters written in the Cindar language. His best friend wears a similar outfit, mainly to the fact that they are normal travel clothes within the Queendom of Falena. His variation of the clothes are an emerald green shirt. He has blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. This young man has a similar sword as well only difference is with a ruby instead of the emerald.**

**"Alen, where are we headed today?" asked the blonde hair young man.**

**"I wanted to check that cave near Durandall, that ok with you, Grenseal?" responded Alen.**

**"Pfft, whatever..I just want to find something this time," said Grenseal as he wandered out of the town.**

**"I know that feeling," laughed Alen following.**

**The two young men wandered toward the other town fighting many beasts on the way. Their blades quenched its thirst on many creatures. That is until they found their destination. Upon entry the looks around to see many strange symbols on the walls.**

**"What do you think they mean?" asked Alen.**

**"Hell if I know..prolly something to do with those Cindar again..Remember those two explorers Lorilai and Killey? They were trying to figure this place out," responded Grenseal.**

**"Oh yeah! That is right..they were here for hours on end looking at the weird alter and such," commented Alen.**

**The two walked up to the alter and looked about it. The alter was made of some kind of stone..it was purely white in color. Many symbols were carved onto it. Most of the symbols were that of different creatures in the world.**

**"Didn't they say that this place held the True Rune of Change?" asked Alen.**

**"Yeah..something like that..they read these things and couldn't figure out how to get to it." Responded Grenseal.**

**"I wonder what would happen if we looked for it," said Alen.**

**"You idiot..This was a waste of time..I'm heading back..I'd suggest you come," said Grenseal as he sighed walking out of the cave.**

**"You may want to leave..but I want to know more..." said Alen talking to himself.**

**Alen reached out and touched the alter running his fingers over the symbols as if in trance. He blinked suddenly as if he got a headache and held his one hand to his head.**

**"What in the world...?"**

**The alter began to glow in a shimmering light before completely exploding sending chunks of it about the cave and knocking Alen out cold. After about an hour went by Alen woke back up to see a shining floating object infront of him. He blinked in astonishment.**

**"What the hell is that?" he asked to himself.**

**Slowly Alen summed up enough courage to touch the glowing object. Almost instantly the cave was consumed by a blinding white light. Alen felt a strange tingling throughout his body. He could feel his skin becoming smooth as well as his black hair beginning to trickle down his neck and continue down his back. He started to feel a weight on his chest as it grew more and more prominent. Then slowly the light went away. Alen felt very strange as his vision was still blurred. He wandered out of the cave and toward the town of Durandall hoping to stay the night at the inn. He managed to enter the town with his blurred vision slightly getting better. Everyone in the town was looking at him. He didn't really pay it much thought since he figured he probably looked horrible from all the battling he did with Grenseal before. He wandered into the inn and laid a few potch onto the counter. The inn keeper lead him to a room where he collapsed onto the bed. The next morning he awoke and still felt very strange. He wandered over to the full length mirror and then only a scream was heard from the inn.**


	2. A New Face

**"I wonder what that scream could mean? I mean after that bright light the story was very vague in what happened. Well, lets head to Chapter 2: A New Face," exclaimed Elle as she turned the page in the book. **

**The next morning he awoke, still feeling very strange. He rolled over groggily, and sat up, his clothes wrapping uncomfortably around him. **

**"Oh, man. I feel asleep in my clothes. I must have been really beat last night." **

**He raised a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temples. As his hand brushed aside the bangs of his hair, he puzzled over them mussily. **

**"What's... this? It's not my hair... It's not the right color and it's far too long. And my clothes are all baggy on me too ... at least my vision has cleared up!" **

**This was true, he could see very clearly now, in fact much more clearly than before. Everything seemed a little lighter to him, a little brighter. Looking up, he spotted a full length mirror hanging on the wall near him. He stood up, trying to understand as he waded across the room in his too large clothes, why his body moved so strangely now and felt so odd. He looked into the mirror curiously. A loud scream split the morning air, filling the common room of the inn and the street outside. **

**Alen stared into the mirror in complete amazement. The reflection in the mirror was not his, not by any stretch of the imagination. It couldn't be his, it was impossible! He quickly looked down at his hands, trying to confirm the truth.  
A small delicate hand met his eyes, graceful slender fingers and long oval nails met his gaze. **

**"My hand?! What..?" **

**Disbelievingly, he pushed the arms of his jacket up, revealing a slender and feminine arm, skin soft and smooth to the touch, and undeniably his, as he could feel the gentle strokes of his own fingers as they explored the soft silken expanse of his own skin. Suddenly terrified, he began to shuck off his clothes, desperate to find out how much of his old form was left. **

**Nothing. There was nothing left. **

**The woman stood in the middle of the room, naked before the mirror. Long silken blonde hair fell to her butt, and wide emerald green eyes surveyed the changes that had occurred to her. She stood about 5'6", her figure a perfect hourglass. She was full of bosom, easily a C cup or more. Her waist was taunt and narrow, leading to wide hips, then down to long graceful legs. Slipping her feet from her now oversized boots revealed a well turned ankle, and small dainty feet. Her face was a soft oval with high cheekbones, her mouth small and slightly pouted with rose colored lips above a cute button nose. There was no trace of the old Alen left. Whoever she was, she was not Alen anymore! **

"**What ... what's happened to me?" she cried out in a bewildered soprano voice. **

**"I've....changed somehow! I can't believe this!! I've got to get back home....maybe mom or the elder knows something," she cried as she started to dress again in her very large outfit. **

**She quickly tied her clothes tighter to fit her now much smaller frame. The clothes were still large on her, but at least she would be able to walk around town without them falling off. Alen then looked at his boots. **

**"There is no way I can fit in them anymore..I would look so ridiculous..looks like I'll need to get new ones...," she said quietly to herself. **

**Alen stepped out of the building and walked around the city barefooted till she could find the shoemaker's store. People in the city were looking at her in question of why she would be walking around like a child barefooted, before shrugging it off. She stepped inside the store and looked around for the owner. After a few minutes an old man came out of the back and greeted her. After a bit of small talk the owner took some measurements so as to get the correct size needed for the young woman. He told her to sit down and relax for a bit while he looked in the back for something in her size. **

**"I wonder how these are going to feel...I don't know anything about being this way...how am I going to do this..?" She asked herself quietly.**

**The old man came back with slender brown leather boots that would come up to about knee high. The man helped Alen put on the new boots as quick as possible. Afterwards she paid him for the boots and left heading home. A few hours of walking and avoiding any confrontation she made it back to her home town.**


	3. The Morning After

"As Alen approached the town in which she called home, she thought to herself, "How will I explain this to everyone? How will they react?" I want to know why she is acting so nonchalant about this whole predicament. Looks like we are going to have to explore Chapter 3: The Return Home." Elle stated as she turned the page of the book, and started reading the text.

Alen gazed about the town heading toward her state of residence. The people within her home town looked at her in question.

"Who is that? Why is she here? What business does she have with Eri?" They murmured. All of these questions and more were asked by the crowd.

Alen looked down embarrassed at all of this, she was not used to the attention she was receiving. She stepped closer to her home spotting her mother. She quickly ran up to her and hugged her.

"Mom, I'm home!" Alen exclaimed gleefully.

Alen's mother looked at the strange girl in front of her. "Can I help you, young lady?" She asked nicely.

Shocked that her own mother did not recognize her, Alen tried to explain the situation. "Mom, its me, Alen, your son! Grenseal and I went to the cave that was being searched a while ago. After a while he left and I was really curious so I touched the alter inside. Then there was this really bright light, and when my vision cleared. I looked like this."

Alen's mother still looked at the girl questionably wondering if it is true.

"Your name is Eri Anikemi. You married my father twenty years ago on the date of your first meeting. I was born eighteen years ago on the 9th day of the emerald month." Alen commented quickly.

Eri blinked in surprise. "Y-You really are my son... but I don't understand.."

"I don't understand it myself, mom. It has been a strange day." Alen said.

"I'd imagine... lets go inside and see if we can figure something out... as well as get away from the crowd." Eri said soothingly. Accepting this change happily. She had always wanted a daughter instead of a son.

Later on that night. Eri had Alen stand on a stool in a light white robe as she did measurements to help her daughter's clothing predicament.


	4. A New Look

"I am still confused... why is Alen so calm about all this? Is Eri THAT happy about this change in her son? I wish I knew more. Now it is time to look at the next chapter of our story. The New Look. Said Elle as se flipped the page of the book to Chapter 4.  
  
Eri had finished obtaining the measurements she needed for Alen's new clothes. "Okay sweetie, you can step down now." She said quietly.   
  
"Thanks for doing this... I guess." Alen said as she stepped onto the cold stone floor blinking.  
  
"This is very good!" exclaimed Eri.  
  
"What is mom?" asked Alen.   
  
"You have nearly the same measurements that I had at your age. That will allow you to wear my old clothes until Mr. Kima can finish making yours for me." Said Eri smiling to herself.

"Mother... Please make sure you get some loose travel clothes for me. I am not going to be sitting around here. I need to go explore it's in my blood. You went exploring with dad!" said Alen as she looked to her mother sternly.

"I just hope he can finish it before Harmonia gets here.." Eri commented sadly.

"What!? Harmonia is invading?!" yelled Alen.

"Yesterday they landed at Everstock, and started their march here." said Eri as she sighed sadly.

"Well shouldn't we get out of here?! I mean they ARE invading!" yelled Alen.

"If we cooperate they will leave us alone... they have done this before, but at that time you were just a baby so you wouldn't remember.." Eri told her daughter attempting to calm her daughter's yelling.

"Why don't we fight back? The Queen's army could stop them!"

"From what I heard they are searching for the True Rune that is here." Eri told her daughter.

"But Mom!! I think I have that rune! I think it is what changed me! I even have this weird tattoo now!" yelled Alen as she ripped off the leather glove on her right hand showing a large tattoo of two crescent moons facing one another, as well as a star in the middle of them.

Eri looked shocked for a moment before saying. "We need to keep you safe.. I'll have to think of a new name for you as well as keep your hands covered.."

"A new name? Why?" asked Alen.

"Because sweetie.. Alen isn't a girl's name."

"True.. I guess I have to.." Alen said as she blinked.

"Let's get you dressed in something more suitable for now.." Eri said as she looked into her closet.

"More suitable? Like what?" Alen asked.

"Like this.." Eri said pulling out a loose green dress.

"I am NOT wearing that!" protested Alen.

"At least for now... please? Just till Mr. Kima can get your clothes done... also you ARE a girl now... want to get used to wearing these.." Eri told her daughter.

"Ugh.... fine..." said Alen as she started to dress in her mother's clothes. "This is so ridiculous.."

"You'll get used to it, Lieza." Eri told her.

"Lieza?"

"Yes.. that is a great name for you now.." smiled Eri.

"You think?" questioned Lieza.


	5. The New Feelings

"I guess Eri really is that happy to have a daughter. I mean what mother wouldn't? I wonder how 'Lieza' will adjust to her home while like this! By the way whatever happened to Grenseal? Will there be a new character in this story? What about the Harmonians? How far away are they from Ansendale? What lies in store for Lieza?" Elle questioned as she turned the page to the next chapter.

"_Chapter Five: The New Feelings._"

"Sweetie, hurry up we need to go to Mr. Kima's!" Eri yelled up the stairs.

"I'm not going! I look ridiculous!" Lieza yelled back.

"No you don't... You look like a beautiful young woman!" Eri replied.

"Exactly, I am a boy remember!!" screamed Lieza.

"Not when I last checked! Now get down here, and let's go!!" Eri stated.

Lieza grumbled and walked down the stairs. She wore a beautiful silk light green dress with symbols of stars on it. Her mother forced her to wear a medieval style green colored heeled set of shoes. "I feel so strange..."

"Awh shush you look great!" exclaimed Eri.

"Please... let's just go... I feel so girly right now..." Lieza commented.

"Ha-ha... alright sweetie we can go, but after Mr. Kima's we need to go shopping for food. I forgot to go yesterday." Eri said as she hugged Lieza, and then began walking out the door.

"Ugh... This is going to be a long day..." Lieza thought to herself.

Both women walked slowly throughout the city heading directly toward Mr. Kima's workshop. People along the way would stare at Lieza, and some would even stop the two to question Eri on whom this girl is. Eri would simply reply that she was the daughter that was missing for many years in her life. The people were happy with the answer, but some were even more interested than others. Many of the young men in the city would go ahead and compliment Lieza on her looks, and some even asked her out. Lieza was beet red by the time they reached Mr. Kima's shop.

"Mom... that was SO embarrassing... "Lieza said quietly looking around. Some of the people in town were still staring at her.

"That's okay, sweetie, I'd get used to it if I were you..."Eri stated calmly.

"I think that will be the biggest challenge... I mean I can't believe that I'm even saying this! How have I even come to walk in these things!? This rune must be changing me while I don't know it! This is the only thing I can think of!" Lieza said to her mother.

"It could be... Or you just WANT to accept your new change, and you want to know more about this change..." Eri told her daughter.

"T-That's ridiculous! How could you even think that I would want that?" Lieza yelled.

Eri giggled at her daughter's reaction and stepped inside the shop. "Kima Trimbur! How are you doing today?" she asked.

"Why Eri, it must have been years, last I saw of you, you were just a young lass that came up to about yae high on my knee... ah... Good times I say... Good times..." Mr. Kima exclaimed with joy.

"Oh Kima, you know I saw you a few days ago, stop playing around." Eri said as she laughed.

"Right, right, well how can I help you?" he said smiling.

"Well, I need you to make some clothes for my daughter here..." Eri stated.

"Please make sure most of them are meant for adventuring... I don't want to be in the house all day... "Lieza added with a smile.

"Will do young lady... Now Eri please tell me I never knew you had a daughter... she is very beautiful... she looks just like you, but with her father's hair." Mr. Kima said as he took the measurements from Eri.

"Well she disappeared for many years, and we couldn't find her after much searching... but just yesterday she walked into town..." Eri lied.

Mr. Kima nodded and told them that with all his new workers the clothes should take about a week to complete. Eri and Lieza left and went back to their duties for the day... Shopping....


	6. The Second Meeting

"So now Lieza's clothes are being made, her mother and her had gone shopping for supplies, and browsed the street merchants' wears. Now as always I have a few questions for you... Why is Lieza going along with all this? How come she doesn't try to do something about it? Does she really like it? Why ask questions when we can look at Chapter 6: The Second Meeting." Elle said quietly.

"No! Mom I am NOT cooking dinner... There is NO way. Uh-uh. Sorry it isn't happening. You couldn't pay me!" Lieza yelled.

"Yes honey, you will... and you will like it!" Eri yelled back.

"No I will not!!!" Lieza screamed as she stormed out of the house. She walked around town for a while before heading to her favorite thinking spot... the old fort that she and Grenseal had made.

"Ugh...I'm glad this place always calms me down." She thought to herself.

"I am not sure what it is, but it always seems to relax my nerves..." A voice said from behind her.

"Ever since that day...." She said.

"Ah yes...that day... The day in which we built this fort and secured this area from the Hollies..."The voice said in response.

Lieza blinked for a second, turned around slowly, and jumped back. "Grenseal! Grenseal what are you doing here?!" She stammered out.

"Um...this is my fort.... Who are you? Why was I reminiscing about it with you...?" He asked in response.

"Lie... err... Alen... your friend." She responded.

"There is absolutely NO way you are Alen... for starters you are a GIRL! Not a BOY!" He stammered out.

"B-But I am Alen! Or rather... I used to be... Something happened after you left the cave... then I looked like this." She said quietly.

"It can't be possible..."he states.

"Alright, I'll prove it to you...um... This fort me and you built precisely seven years, 3 months, and twenty six days ago." Lieza tells him.

"It is you... but I am still confused..."

"Aren't we all? But we have bigger problems... The Harmonians are coming!" She shouts.

"I heard... they should be here in two days time..."

"Only two more days?! This isn't good... Mom said we should just relax and they won't bother us... but I think they are after me..." Lieza states.

"Hrm... give me some time to think... I need to figure things out..."he told her.

Grenseal walked back to town quietly, leaving Lieza there alone. She sighed not wanting to go home, but it was the only place she could go. Slowly she walked back to her house and quietly snuck in. She avoided her mother to try and avoid any conflicts... As she reached her bed she quickly laid down and fell asleep. Hoping that the next day would prove to be better.

Outside the crowd was bustling with commotion. Lieza woke up suddenly from it feeling a pain from her hand. Was something here? Quickly she dressed and ran outside into the crowd.

"We seek the bearer of the True Rune. We know you are hiding him here. Now where is he!" one yelled. A mysterious aura surrounded the man. His clothes were very plain. A dark gray tunic wrapped with a simply leather belt. He wears loose black pants that seem frayed quite badly at the bottoms. His feet were dirty mainly to the fact that he was barefoot. The most interesting thing about him is his third eye planted directly in the center of his forehead. His eyes are all misty blue in color. Most of his face is covered with a black scarf. His jet-black hair sways in the wild. Relatively short in length yet a bit wild and untamed.

Lieza gasped quietly as she thought to herself. What am I going to do? Are these the Harmonians? They do not have the Harmonian banner... could they be spies?


	7. The Big Secret

"Oh my! A mysterious young man with three eyes? Who else is with him? Will Lieza reveal herself? Are these strangers looking for Lieza in order to give her to Harmonia? What is Grenseal thinking? All these questions and more for Chapter Seven: The Big Secret." Elle comments.

"We are hiding no one, Triclopse." One of the villagers stated.

"Don't lie to me… you won't like me when I am angry…" The Triclopse called back.

"We swear we don't know what you are talking about! Alen is missing from the village, has been for a few days now. We don't know where he went. This girl came by the day after he left, Eri claimed she was her daughter that disappeared years and years ago." Another villager answered.

Oh Great…What do I do now…I'm exposed… somewhat…what should I do… Lieza thought to herself…

"Take me to her…" The Triclopse said quietly.

Crap! Crap crap crap crap crap crap! Come on think quickly…come on…. Lieza looked around and tried to blend into the crowd and sneak away.

"Right this way…" One of the villagers led the man to Eri's home.

I know its only been a day or two… but I wonder if Mr. Kima has SOMETHING done for me... Lieza questioned to herself. She quickly but stealthily snuck to Mr. Kima's workshop.

Please be open... please be open… I need to get out of here… she thought to herself. As she approached the door and turned the knob, Mr. Kima was standing there sweeping up the hard wood floor. "Mr. Kima! Do you have anything ready for me yet?" She questioned nervously.

"Eh? Lieza? I have those clothes YOU wanted. The ones your mother asked for aren't done yet." He responded.

"Perfect! Can I pay you for the two sets for me and take them today?"

"That wouldn't be a problem, young Lieza."

So Lieza handed Kima a pouch of gold from her side and waiting for him to return with the outfits. He promptly did so and Lieza kindly took one and stepped into the dressing room. Quickly she undressed and looked at herself in the mirror again.

"I just can't believe this is me… I've changed so much… Not much I can worry about… I'll just have to deal with it for now." she said quietly before starting to dress in her new clothes. After a few moments she steps out fully dressed. She wore new light brown colored heel boots that came up to about her knee. Above that was a deep forest green skirt with light green around the edges. The skirt ended right above her knee. As a top she wore a very light purple almost see through shirt with a deep purplish blue top that covered over where the see through was on her midsection. A golden necklace was around her neck. As well as a long crimson red cape with a strange symbol on her back.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Kima. I must be going." Lieza said as she started for the door. Outside the shop she heard her mother getting closer talking to the stranger. "Oh crap… Mr. Kima is there a backdoor?"

"Yes there is… but why?" he states.

"That's all I need to know." She commented quickly running to the back of the store and out of the door. Her mother and the stranger stepped into the shop and look about.

"Kima, was my daughter here?" Eri asked.

"She was… but she just left." He replied.

"Where did she go?" She asked again

"Not sure really. She took some of the clothes I made and went out the back."

"Drat… I need to find her… Mr. Kyrex here needs to see her." Eri explained.

"I'm sure you could still follow her." Kima responded.

"Will do." She nodded before leaving through the back entrance with Kyrex.

Where do I go… where do I go… Lieza thought to herself as she runs through the back alleys. She finds a small enclave to hide at to think.

Ok, I am having problems here, how do I get out of the city without them seeing me. I could climb the rooftops. No I don't think that wouldn't work. With this body I don't know if I'd make the jumps. Oh I don't know… huh? What was that? Footsteps? They caught up to me? Ugh! Quickly Lieza darted from her position and examined the area around her. Nothing. This was good for her. She bolted toward the path she did not follow. Hoping that they would not be there.


	8. Conquest on Ansendale!

"Well that had to be very taxing on the heart for Lieza. Her Mother and that stranger Kyrex are right on her tail. Where will she go? What is she supposed to do now? Harmonia will arrive tomorrow searching for her. That is… unless they already have arrived?" Elle comments as she flips the page quickly.

The Hero of Change Chapter 8: Conquest on Ansendale!

Lieza ran down the back alley quickly trying to get out of the town. As she reached the end of the alley, someone was standing there. The sun was behind the person so she only saw the person's outline. The person was clearly female. Lieza tried to find another route to follow before getting to the person, but there was none. I guess I have to go through her…

As Lieza ran closer to the girl she quickly saw the girl with full detail. The girl was a little bit older then she was with a short lime green skirt with a matching top. She had long hunter green hair with a small red rose nestled above her ear. Over her lime green top she wore an olive colored small jacket. Quickly she pulled a red pole from her back and held it in front of her.

Lieza stopped short of hitting the girl and reached for her sword. Drawing it from the sheath, Lieza went into her basic fighting stance. The girl readied herself keeping quiet. Lieza attacked first striking high, but the girl quickly blocked the attacked and went for a counter swing. Lieza's instincts rose quickly as she jumped into the air and over the girl swinging the blunt side of her sword at the girl's neck. Attempting to knock her out. The girl blocked quickly and looked quietly at Lieza.

"Just who are you?" Lieza asked.

"Rose… Ms. Lieza" she responded.

"Why are you after me? What have I done! What does my mother want?"

"You misunderstand; we are here to assist you. As mercenaries, your mother hired us." Rose explained.

"But… how did she know I was going to escape…" Lieza questioned to herself.

"Don't ask me… now come on we have to go… we've wasted enough time." Rose stated.

"Hmm…" Lieza murmured as she followed Rose thinking.

Rose led Lieza toward the center of town where they waited for Kyrex and her mother. After quite some time the two caught up to them, and the conversation began.

"Well I hope you know what your doing, young lady." Eri stated.

"I'm sure I do… We will leave and head to Durandall, and take a boat to Obel, once in Zexen we will get some help and come back to Falena."

"I understand, Kyrex, Rose, take care of her." Commented Eri.

"Understood"

"Right."

So the three set out of Ansendale, and started their travels for Durandall, traveling along the long forest route to avoid the on coming Harmonians. The three knew all to well that the Harmonians had taken Durandall, but sources indicated that the Harmonians were allowing sea travel to the Island Nations for trading. This was their only shot.


End file.
